Stretched Band

[feefee57 0]

How can you tell if your band has stretched. I have been getting fills every 2 weeks since middle of July. When they pull the Fluid before the fill it is always less than the prior week. ex. 7cc then 2 weeks later 4.6cc. I have had port study and all looked good they said but I still have no restriction at all. The last restriction I had was in June and the Dr said it was to full (6.3cc) so he took out .4cc but when I came back there was only 4.6cc and I have been on the downhill trip ever since.When they pull out the fluid it very sluggish to get out and this last week they could not tell me how much was there because it would not come out. I am very upset with this, I had lost 55 lbs prior to this. I had my surgery in Sept 2007. Can anyone give me any suggestions??

[bandfun4me 0]

I wondered the same thing. I had good restriction for about 4 different fills. WhenI had 5cc in and he pulled it out in the same injection to send another 1.cc in.I made the comment that must have caused that "wrinkle to go away, From that fill on I have had very little restriction, BUT I have a FULL feeling when I have eaten my alloted amount of food. It just feels different. My doc tells me this is how it should be. I now have 6.5 cc in a 10 cc band I lost 4 lbs last month after he got me up to 6.0 with with the same feeling, he said I am getting close to that "sweet spot" The full feeling will come and stay for about 6hrs now. wonderful, makes me wonder if mine is strectched. He said it is very hard to pull all saline out due to the suction and it being air tight in the band, the needle is so small to go into the port, very slow coming back into the syringe. I am 9 months out 15 lbs from my goal. luv my band, we are buddies.I use it everyday. I try to take care of it , wnat to keep it healthy and working hard for me too.

[MacMadame 81]

The band can't stretch. It's made of silicon. Did you mean something else? (I know all these terms and band slang gets confusing sometimes.)

It sounds like you have a leak somewhere if you are losing Fluid. There are a number of things that can be done for that including using a thicker Fluid to fill with.

[KelinTx 1]

I was in the same boat. Every time i went in for a fill i had less saline in then i was supposed to. I ended up having the band emptied then refilled with a dye solution under fluoroscopy so that they could see if there was a leak. I ended up having port replacement!!

[Jodi_620 37]

Your band can slip and you may have reflux, pain, lack of weight loss

OR

Your pouch can stretch which would allow you to eat more

But as MacMadame said, you can not stretch your band. What you are describing sounds like either a leak or a problem with your port. You should ask your doctor what is going on.

[dimpleyvett 0]

to all good day i was band aug 7 2008 first fill on oct 7 i do not fell full at all is this normal ? alot of up set stomach .

[Debbie P 0]

I would love to hear the outcome of your situation. Me too, I have the same problem. Everytime I get filled, they can't seem to pull out what they put in. I've been checked under the scope and they tell me everything is in place. I've lost 60 lbs. but no matter what or how much I eat, no weight loss. I hate to exercise but that seems to be the only way. Good luck.

How can you tell if your band has stretched. I have been getting fills every 2 weeks since middle of July. When they pull the Fluid before the fill it is always less than the prior week. ex. 7cc then 2 weeks later 4.6cc. I have had port study and all looked good they said but I still have no restriction at all. The last restriction I had was in June and the Dr said it was to full (6.3cc) so he took out .4cc but when I came back there was only 4.6cc and I have been on the downhill trip ever since.When they pull out the Fluid it very sluggish to get out and this last week they could not tell me how much was there because it would not come out. I am very upset with this, I had lost 55 lbs prior to this. I had my surgery in Sept 2007. Can anyone give me any suggestions??

[feefee57 0]

Thanks so much you guys for listening to me. I will keep you updated on what happens.

[pjd3253 0]

I am confused -when I went for my last fill and got 2 cc's did they take some out first? Do they always take some out before they put more in? How can you keep up with what you actually have in there if they do that?

[feefee57 0]

My Dr put the amount of Fluid he is going to put in the needle first, then when it is injected to the port he pulls out what is in the band, then puts it back in along with the amount he has in there for the fill.

[MacMadame 81]

to all good day i was band aug 7 2008 first fill on oct 7 i do not fell full at all is this normal ? alot of up set stomach .

You might want to start a new thread about this to get the most answers.

I am confused -when I went for my last fill and got 2 cc's did they take some out first? Do they always take some out before they put more in? How can you keep up with what you actually have in there if they do that?

Some docs will put saline in the needle, then suck out everything that is there and then put it back along with some new. It's a good way to make sure they are hitting the port (and not putting it all into your skin) or that there isn't a leak.

[Donna113 2]

Although it sounds like the problem is most likely a leak in the band, if you are curious whether you've stretched your pouch, you may want to try the 5 day pouch test at the following link:

www.5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html